Release the Dogs of War

by Michael Anderle

  “Let’s hope so,” William said, “I can tell you when Bethany Anne takes control of this ship, she is going to put it through its paces, that’s for damn sure.”

  “Yeah, that’s true,” Bobcat agreed, “What did Jeffrey say about his conversation with Captain Thomas?”

  William put down his fork. “Um, it was a little tense,” William admitted, “He didn’t talk to you about it?”

  Bobcat finished his bite, “I couldn’t get on the call, Jeo and I were working some smelting issues out. One of the new ideas to use gravity exploded all over the temporary smelting test platform.”

  “Anyone hurt?” William asked.

  “Only superficially when one of the stray chunks that broke apart holed the temporary building. The building was hidden behind another large rock, but the stupid chunk rebounded off of a big rock waiting for testing. One in a million chance it could happen, and it happened. The idiot didn’t have his helmet on, so he suffered some lung issues before the gravity tech slammed on his helmet and got him on internal oxygen. I doubt he will make that mistake again.”

  “If being that close to death doesn’t make him religious about safety, he needs to go home,” William offered, “I’m surprised we aren’t sending him there anyway.”

  “Oh, it was considered, but he was cursing himself out so much even Bandile Annane, the miner lead, felt sorry for him, so he got ten days of slag duty,” Bobcat replied.

  “Damn, Annane has a heart?” William exclaimed, “I thought when it came to safety, you were either perfect or gone.”

  “No, he just yells a lot, he cares for his people. Plus, in his language, it sounds like cursing.” Bobcat shrugged.

  “So, what is our first order of business when the team is all back together?” William asked.

  Bobcat looked up at William and smiled, “Why, the name of the first bar in outer space, of course.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Tabitha’s Home, South America

  Tabitha reviewed the screens on the laptop in her office and spoke softly, but loud enough for her voice to be heard at her door. “Ryu, I need to speak to Hirotoshi and you for a minute.”

  A silent body stepped out of the shadows, and a few moments later, Hirotoshi and Ryu came into Tabitha’s office. She turned the laptop around, and a map showed a small office building on the outside of a nearby town. “This is the location I believe the closest Forsaken are housed. I’ve tracked down some of the money transfers to our last visitors. Plus, there are now four missing people in the last two months, on that side of town. Suggestions?”

  “Daytime.” Hirotoshi said, “There is no need to offer any advantage to Forsaken in this, Kimosabi,” Hirotoshi’s lips quirked slightly when he used the team's name for Tabitha.

  “Fine, but I want to question the people, so make sure we don’t kill any who aren’t Nosferatu,” she told them, ignoring the name.

  She would get them back.

  “It’s going to be a hit, grab and take away, then,” Hirotoshi supplied, “We go in, kill Nosferatu and decide how to implement a clean up after we grab Forsaken and then skip out. We will need Sun protection for them between the house and a van.”

  “Damn, cleanup is such a bitch,” Tabitha thought about it, “What is the normal procedure?”

  “Burning in some places, Kimosabi,” Ryu answered, “Although here it looks like we would be hurting others and I doubt the Queen would like us to do that.”

  “No, no she wouldn’t,” Tabitha agreed. “So, we need to consider creating our own cleanup methods. Heavy duty plastic bags, bleach, etc.” She reached over and grabbed her phone. After handling the security, she punched a couple of numbers, “One second, guys.”

  She waited a few seconds, “Frank? Tabitha. I have a question on how to clean up a bunch of dead bodies. No, I don’t have any dead bodies at the moment, but I’m expecting to have some shortly. Well, probably some Nosferatu and we are grabbing some Forsaken to have discussions if we can. Daytime. Yeah, well while it’s true that daytime means others will be around, the vampires will probably be asleep. No, I can’t have everything, or, well nevermind.”

  She listened for a few seconds, “Really? That would be great. No, I’m not trying to get rid of any underground crime lords at the moment. They leave me alone, I’ll leave them alone unless they get involved on their own.” Another pause, “Ok, if you would find and make that connection, tell me what we would need to pay for the cleanup. We will supply the time and location once we are going in.” She laughed, “I’m young, not stupid. Right, I do plan to be around for a few hundred years.”

  She hung up the phone, “Ok, we need to figure our own cleanup for the future, but we might have backup by the criminal underground. The sun could take care of some of it, and I don’t want to burn it if the flames are going to hurt innocents. In the future, if we don’t have to depend on criminals, I’d feel a little better. Stupid Forsaken are already making me connect with people I don’t want to.” She griped.

  “Don’t think about it, Kimosabi,” Hirotoshi advised, “You are the Queen’s Ranger, not the local law. I would advise you to do what you need to handle your responsibility. You will need to be trustworthy to both those above and below the law if you are going to do your job appropriately. Even the criminals need to know that your word is your bond.”

  “Well, that rips it, I can’t give my word,” Tabitha said, “Or I need to be careful giving my assurance, or just be damned sneaky.”

  “See, already she has figured out a way around this conundrum she has, wisdom is quick for one so young, Ryu,” Hirotoshi said as he pointed to Tabitha but spoke to Ryu, who was next to him. Ryu just nodded his head like he was looking at the Emperor's young daughter.

  “Wow, sarcasm is such an admirable trait Tonto Prime,” Tabitha told him. “I get it, always be truthful, but make sure my truth can cut multiple ways,” she admitted, “Now that we have that little bit of wisdom dispensed, let’s figure out how we are going to get there, what we need and the particulars.”

  The three of them got down to planning their first operation.

  —

  The dark gray van rolled up to the Rodriquez Carpet Emporium building sporting signs outside that said ‘Going Out Of Business, Everything Must Go!’ The signs looked like they had been there for a few years, half ripped in places and dirty. There were no people in the deserted-looking and rundown office park. Time had not been gentle to the buildings, and some areas had cement patches, and many of the walls had graffiti sprayed on them. Even the graffiti had faded. The weeds were growing through cracks in the concrete.

  The van’s sliding door opened, and Hirotoshi and Ryu stepped out. He signaled the two in the front who understood their responsibility was to protect their egress and stop any from entering or exiting the building. Tabitha walked up to the glass door with the metal bars over it. Even to her less than well-trained eyes, she could see the footprints in the dirt.

  “Well, someone is home,” She muttered and looked at the lock, “Seems like it’s a simple lock, but physical locks aren’t my …” Ryu stepped up and pulled a small leather pouch from his shirt. All of the men were dressed in black military cargo pants and shirts that seemed to hide more pockets than should be physically possible. Tabitha asked them about their odd-toed boots, and Hirotoshi said that they preferred the design from the ancient times to the new boots that did not allow them to feel the sticks under their feet as they moved.

  Less than ten seconds later, the lock was picked, and the small leather pouch disappeared back into Ryu’s shirt. He nodded to Hirotoshi, who was backed up by Ryu and then three others. Hirotoshi put up two fingers, one, and then three before pulling his sword and entering the building. Ryu pulled his sword and went next. Tabitha could feel a little push and a tiny ‘Kimosabi’ from behind her. “Guess that makes me the one.” She muttered as she followed Ryu.

  In their getup, with faces covered, she could only tell that the one pushing her wa
s one of the twins in her group, but not if it was Kouki or Shin, his brother. She pulled a knife. She had been informed that unless necessary, it would be better she wasn’t swinging a sword yet in a close combat situation. She had the sword with her, but as far as she was concerned, it was ornamental unless she had to pull it. If that happened, she was probably in deep shit.

  Her heartbeat raced ahead as she followed Ryu into the building. Whoever originally inhabited the building had left without cleaning out the place. There were old desks with dust on them in some of the rooms and an occasional mess of papers. There was a small hiss from ahead of them, where Hirotoshi had a door opened, and had his sword pointed down into a darker gloom.

  The smell of rotting flesh hit Tabitha’s enhanced senses, and she wanted to gag. She heard Ryu’s nearly silent comment from ahead of her, “If you vomit, please miss me.”

  Tabitha bit down on her gag reflex, “Hai!” and continued to follow Ryu. She could hear one of the guys stay at the top of the stairs as the five of them went down. Hirotoshi was at the bottom. The only sound Tabitha could hear were her own steps. She tried to keep her steps quiet, but even the damned shoes she had on made some noise.

  She looked at the Tonto’s footwear made of leather and how their toes were split into two groups. Maybe she would have to try them after this operation. Leading as the last of the invading group came close to the end of the hallway, Hirotoshi pulled open a door, and Ryu slid into the room beyond.

  There was an audible slap when Tabitha heard Ryu cut something and then Hirotoshi went, and it was her turn.

  One vampire came in with her, and one stayed in the room by the stair entrance as Ryu and Hirotoshi checked out the next room over.

  There was a small light coming from where an electronic device plugged into the wall. Tabitha grabbed a small capsule from her jacket and cracked it, allowing the contents to merge. The merger created a bioluminescent jelly substance. She finished shaking it as it started to glow from the chemical reaction and threw the capsule up onto the ceiling where the outer shell broke open, and the jelly stuck, bathing the room in enough light for her eyes to see the disgusting festering dead bodies and the two newly headless Nosferatu.

  She turned away from the display slowly. Both to show that she could handle the view, and also not to upset her stomach by turning too fast.

  “Kimosabi,” Hirotoshi said from the next room. She went through the door and found Hirotoshi and Ryu next to two others, both sound asleep. “They are weak enough for vampires,” Hirotoshi said, “They are having trouble staying awake during the day. They probably think they can keep the area with human thugs, so they possibly are capable of mind control.” He told her.

  She regarded the two sleeping, “Let’s take them up, if they hit a little sun, maybe it will wake them. If they try to yell or fight, incapacitate them,” she told the two, “I’ll get with Frank’s contact about cleanup.” She slid her knife into the sheath. Turning, she walked out of the room and past the scene in the next room before taking the stairs two at a time pulling her phone out on the way. When Tabitha hit the top, she nodded at their guard and hit the number she had already entered to call her local contact.

  “Mr. Jaminez? Yes, this is Tabitha. I’m going to send you an address by text in a moment. There are human remains, and recently dead humans at this location. The remains need to be removed, the evidence destroyed. No, I don’t want the place burned down. Well, then use a lot of chemicals! The amount of money you are being paid is sufficient. If I need to get more, I’ll hack your damned accounts to give it to you, so don’t push my buttons. No, that isn’t a threat, it is a tactical explanation of where I’ll get the funds to pay you. However, I’m going to charge your account a 10% withdrawal fee for hacking it in the first place. So, feel free to adjust the price as much as you want, I’ll wait for your final decision. No, not that long, I’ll wait one minute.”

  Tabitha turned the speaker on for her phone and opened a program that allowed her to view the screen on her laptop. When the interface came up, she hit the third tab on the application and started plugging in numbers into a form she had built. Finally, the voice came back on telling her she needed to add another thousand U.S. dollars to the account. She added a thousand bucks and hit send. “Ok, I’ve sent the money.” She closed her connection to her server, “Got it? Good. When will your team be here? That’s fine, I’ll have someone confirm your results.”

  Tabitha clicked off her phone and muttered, “Ass. Chemical surcharge my butt.” She walked to the front door while setting a reminder to pull the money out of the criminal group’s banking account in three days before placing the phone back in her pocket.

  A minute later, Hirotoshi and Ryu walked out with the two vampires over their shoulders. Unfortunately, the sun was being blocked by the building and the late afternoon sunlight wasn’t enough to wake them.

  “God,” Tabitha remarked, “talk about two useless excuses for vampires, knock them out harder, I have a plan for them.” Tabitha and the men got back into the van and left. Hirotoshi would have someone come by tomorrow to make sure that the criminals they contracted did their job. “Alright, let’s go home.”

  —

  Jaime woke up, his arms tight behind his back and tied to a heavy wooden chair, he was immobile. His eyes snapped open, concern evident when he looked around. He was in a concrete room, and it had the smell of old blood.

  “Ah, we have our first volunteer,” a woman said, walking from behind Jamie to where he could see her.

  “Who are you?” He demanded, “Let me out, or you will find I am your worst nightmare.” Jaime tweaked his voice to put a level of fear into his effort.

  “Oh, that’s what that feels like,” the girl said and walked up to Jaime.

  “Stop playing with your voice, or I’ll slap the shit out of you,” she told him.

  Jaime’s eyes went red, his fangs grew, “I’ll tell you what is going to …” Jaime’s face was blasted with a slap that took him and his chair off the floor to fall a few feet away. Jaime’s jaw cracked loudly as it worked to heal.

  “Son of Satan’s whore!” the girl cried out in pain, “That hurt!” She grabbed her right hand with her left and massaged it.

  Jaime felt his arm painfully caught and he and the chair were brought back up to a sitting position. “Not a human, Forsaken, I’m a Ranger,” she told him, stepping back still shaking her right hand.

  Jaime tried to speak, his busted jaw not helping him any as he asked, “Wath ith a Rangther?” He eyed the woman in front of him. She obviously had been around vampires, since she didn’t even skip a beat when Jaime had tried to scare her and her strength was more than a human’s.

  “Detective, judge and occasionally executioner for Bethany Anne,” she told him.

  “That whore?” Jaime had just said the last word when he yelled in pain, looking down to see a knife stuck in his leg, and the woman holding a hand up to stop something from happening behind him.

  “Shut up,” she ordered.

  “You have a knife thuck in my leg!” Jaime screamed, “How am I thuppothed to thop yelling?”

  “Because if I pull this knife out, you lose your head, jackass,” she told him and crooked a finger to someone behind him. It took Jaime a moment to readjust as he worked to focus on the person coming into his view. It was then he realized that he was seriously fucked.

  This was a powerful Vampire. He had a katana out, and although Jaime could only see his eyes with his mask drawn up over his face, they looked seriously unhappy.

  “What is your name?” the woman asked him.

  “Ja…Jaime,” He got out before shutting his mouth again, trying not to move the knife impaled into the chair.

  “Well Jaime, meet Hirotoshi from the Queen’s Elite. He was about a second from taking your head off with that katana for disrespecting the Queen. Bad choice of words, I might add. They take her honor very seriously. However, I need information that you might be able to provi
de so I’m willing to deal. First question, why are you trying to take over Michael’s area?”

  “He is dead.” Jaime got out, “Why should I answer questions from you?”

  Tabitha’s eyes flashed red as she stepped closer to Jaime and grabbed the knife handle. “Because I control the knife, asshole,” she said and moved the knife back and forth a couple of times as Jaime screamed, “Keep talking like Michael is gone and we will be done here.” She stopped playing with the knife and stepped back, looking at the man next to her who was carefully eying her. “What? He pissed me off.” The two continued starring at each other a couple of seconds before the man broke the staring to look back at Jaime.

  Jaime got his voice back, “If I tell you everything, will you set me free?”

  The woman considered his question, “I will allow you a ninety-second head start. The front door of the house is up the stairs behind me, and then you take a right down the hall and then a left at the next room. We will have the front door open. If you fail to leave, you will be killed. If you try to do anything but leave, you will be killed. This, plus me pulling the knife out of your leg right now, is the best deal I will provide. You have seven seconds to decide.”